Piedmont Pediatrics

12/09/2025

Our office doesn’t look THIS bad today, but in anticipation of some slick roads Monday night and Tuesday morning, both our Charlottesville and Crozet offices will open late - at 10 am, Tuesday, December 9th.

We will post any further updates to our operating schedule on our website www.piedmontpediatrics.net

Our nurse triage line 434-975-7777 is open for urgent medical concerns when our office is closed.
Please call 911 for any emergencies.

Please stay safe and warm everyone!

12/08/2025

Despite the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices vote on Friday to end universal hepatitis B vaccination recommendations for newborns, insurance officials insist that parents will still be able to get the hepatitis B vaccine for their children at no cost.

Read more.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/07/health/hepatitis-b-vaccine-insurance-coverage



Donate
https://immunizeusa.salsalabs.org/donatetotip2025/index.html

12/08/2025

Our office doesn’t look THIS bad today, but in anticipation of some slick roads tonight, both our Charlottesville and Crozet offices will close early at 5 pm today, Monday, December 8th.

We will post any further updates to our operating schedule on our website www.piedmontpediatrics.net

Our nurse triage line 434-975-7777 is open for urgent medical concerns when our office is closed.
Please call 911 for any emergencies.

Please stay safe everyone!

12/07/2025

This one graph says it all. This is why we do universal vaccination for hepatitis B in the US. A risk-based approach for this sneaky, often asymptomatic but highly contagious virus didn’t work. (We tried it in the late 80s.)

Also, universal vaccination does not mean parents do not have a choice. Parents have always been able to opt-out. But having to opt out sends the message that we are strongly recommending this intervention to protect your child from potential harm - that scientists and medical professionals have already examined the risks and benefits and the vaccine is the best way to keep your child safe from this horrible, untreatable disease - that it is the medical standard of care.

12/07/2025

Piedmont Pediatrics and other medical groups agree: the hepatitis B vaccine is safe and has decreased infant and childhood infections by 99% since 1991, when the US began universal hep B vaccination in the nursery.

Hepatitis B is 50-100 times more contagious than HIV and can be transmitted at home, daycare, and at the playground. 90% of infants who catch hepatitis B will become chronic active carriers of the disease, which means that we can never get rid of their infections and they will remain constantly infectious to those around them.

This is why we are alarmed about the current change in policy. This is why we immunize newborns and don’t wait until they are adolescents.

This excellent vaccine has been a victim of its own success. Please talk to your pediatricians and infectious disease doctors and get information from reliable sources.

Our only motive is to protect our patients and their families from this highly contagious and insidious disease.

The full AAP statement can be found at this link: https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2025/statement-from-leading-medical-health-and-patient-advocacy-groups-on-cdc-vaccine-meeting/

12/06/2025

Today’s action to weaken the birth-dose recommendation for the Hepatitis B vaccine disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns.

Administering the birth dose is crucial for protecting children from both perinatal and early postnatal transmission of Hepatitis B virus – and preventing a lifelong condition that can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death.

Families should be able to rely on the CDC for clear, evidence-based guidance when making important vaccination decisions for their children. We urge the CDC to reject this recommendation and uphold its commitment to science and public health. The consequences of failing to do so are too severe and the potential harm too great.

12/06/2025

12/05/2025

A statement from more than 40 leading medical, health and patient advocacy organizations in response to this week’s ACIP meeting:

"We are deeply alarmed by the actions taken this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The apparent goal of this meeting was to sow doubt in vaccines rather than advance sound vaccine policy, and we will all pay a price for that.

This is a significant departure from the historic role ACIP has played in shaping vaccine policy in the United States. Previously, we could expect science to drive decisions, experts to debate evidence, and consensus to lead to shared, clear recommendations. That is not the case with the current committee, and this change puts Americans’ health at risk.

The evidence remains clear: the hepatitis B birth dose is safe and an essential component in helping children develop immunity against a serious, potentially lifelong disease. In fact, since the U.S. implemented the hepatitis B birth dose in 1991, annual hepatitis B infections among infants and children have dropped 99%, from 16,000 to less than 20. This progress is directly attributable to timely vaccination.

ACIP’s actions will harm children, their families and the medical professionals who care for them. That is why we are joining together to speak up. American families deserve information grounded in science and clear, consistent guidance – not speculation intended to scare them. We urge the CDC leaders to reject ACIP’s new recommendation and instead retain the current, evidence-based approach.”

Read the full statement: https://bit.ly/4a0EyFN

12/05/2025

We are devastated to see the recommendations of the ACIP meeting this morning, which may cause thousands of children to develop chronic hepatitis B infection - infections that are untreatable and would otherwise be prevented by our current immunization guidelines.

Piedmont Pediatrics will continue to advocate for the existing immunization schedule, which is safe, evidence-based, and has decreased infant hepatitis B infections by 99% in the past 3 decades.

More information above - thanks to the and for their posts.

12/05/2025

12/05/2025

12/05/2025

“This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children. I want to reassure parents and clinicians that there is no new or concerning information about the hepatitis B vaccine that is prompting this change, nor has children’s risk of contracting hepatitis B changed. Instead, this is the result of a deliberate strategy to sow fear and distrust among families,” said American Academy of Pediatrics President Susan J. Kressly.

In medicine, the shared clinical decision-making designation is not intended for interventions with clear, evidence-based benefits to a broad population, such as a safe vaccine that offers an important benefit to all newborns. Instead, a universal recommendation – such as what AAP continues to make for the hepatitis B birth dose – offers clear guidance to pediatricians and families that the vaccine is important and beneficial. Pediatricians are ready to discuss the vaccine with families, review benefits and potential side effects, and collaborate with parents to make informed decisions about their child’s health.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics will continue to provide clear, evidence-backed guidance on routine childhood immunizations. I encourage parents, expecting parents and caregivers to talk with their pediatricians and doctors if they have questions about the hepatitis B vaccine,” said Dr. Kressly.

Click here to read the full statement: https://bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT